Inside the Trip: Dortmund v. Firing Line

Dortmund and Firing Line battled it out to an epic finish in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
Did last weekend have enough top class racing action for you? From Aqueduct to Gulfstream and out to Santa Anita, we witnessed a three hour spectacle of nonstop heart-pounding stakes action.
It was a small field for the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, but the public got what it wanted as Dortmund and Firing Line, the 3-5 favorite and 9-5 second choice, respectively, battled relentlessly down the lane. In American dirt racing, you don’t often see a horse get passed and fall almost a length down in the stretch only to rally and win, but that’s what Dortmund did. Or did he? Well, we know he won, but did he “rally” or just not slow down as much as Firing Line? Relive the race below.

Firing Line covered 30 feet more than Dortmund, and averaged 38.0 MPH during the Lewis compared to Dortmund’s 37.8 MPH. But the last three furlongs were particularly telling, and we’ve dissected each individual sixteenth-mile segment to better highlight the differences. Dortmund wasn’t speeding-up during this time, but really was just decelerating at a lower rate than Firing Line.
 
The speeds in yellow listed above are the average speeds recorded by Trakus during the entire segment within each race. These speeds are particularly interesting when comparing the two from the three-eighths to the quarter-pole. Dortmund was inside, while Firing Line was trying to maintain position, or even advance, while covering extra ground. Firing Line wasn’t running the segment from the five-sixteenths pole to the quarter pole much faster in raw times than Dortmund (a difference of 0.03 seconds), but because he was traveling wider, he was doing more work (37.7 MPH v. 37.1 MPH). Over the last three-eighths, Dortmund’s average speed decelerated by 1.8 MPH compared to Firing Line decelerating by 3.8 MPH.
This is as basic a case study as you will find in the impact of ground-loss. Traveling wider and, at the least, maintaining position requires the use of more energy. Firing Line was going quite quicker than Dortmund around the turn, but the extra ground he covered mitigated the impact of his added speed, and may have dropped the petrol left in his tank for the latter stages of the stretch drive.
Shared Belief ran down California Chrome in a sensational rematch between the third and fourth place finishers from the Breeders’ Cup Classic. As has often been the case with Shared Belief, he covered loads of extra ground, going 25 feet more than California Chrome and 48 feet more than well-beaten third Hoppertunity.

Once again, South American import Bronzo covered the widest trip in the field, and it may have cost him a third-placing. He traveled 59 feet more than Hoppertunity, a distance that equates to seven lengths. Last time out in the San Pasqual, won by Hoppertunity, Bronzo went 77 feet farther than the winner. Perhaps there is a belief that Bronzo doesn’t like to be inside, but he sure hasn’t had an opportunity to save ground in these two most recent American tries when he could have earned graded placings.
Gulfstream Park
Mshawish won the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap in a thrilling renewal of the race. Blocked for a run most of the stretch, the Todd Pletcher-trained turfer found a hole late and burst through to win. The gap from first to last was just three lengths, and a variety of unique storylines, and how one absorbs data, could emerge.
Take a gander at the information below – showing how many feet each horse traveled relative to Mshawish, that distance converted to lengths, the final sectional times for each horse, and their average speed throughout the race.

Slumber, beaten only a nose, went more than five lengths farther than Mshawish. Manchurian High, who finished fourth, recorded the fastest final quarter and eighth, and covered more than 4 ½ lengths than the winner.
Even eighth-place finisher Imagining, who was making a stout run at the rail only to see the door shut, averaged a speed as fast as Mshawish. Watch the replay below, and take note of how the entire field is bunched in one frame at the finish.

What none of this takes into consideration, though, is that most of Mshawish’s final quarter came without being given the ability to lengthen his stride. We’ve heard many naysayers poo-poo the data and suggest they rather have a horse outside and in the clear than bottled up and potentially finding trouble. Mshawish was inside, and found trouble, but those who covered the extra ground still could not find enough to beat him even after the favorite had a tough trip.
One race later, Constitution was drawn on the rail and went gate-to-wire to win the Donn Handicap. Lea, last year’s Donn winner, covered a trip that was as ground-saving as Constitution’s, but the horse that caught our eye was Prayer for Relief. Without winning often, he tends to run some sneaky good races, and is quickly approaching the $2 million mark in career earnings. Drawn widest in the field of nine, Prayer for Relief covered 67 feet more than Constitution, a margin equating to about 7 ¾ lengths. He was beaten eight lengths.

Aqueduct
Pacesetter Dads Caps looked the winner when in hand at the top of the stretch in the Toboggan Stakes, only to be overtaken by a late charging Salutos Amigos in the final sixteenth. The five-year-old gelding took advantage of the solid early tempo and won going away. Salutos Amigos ran the final quarter in 23.23 seconds, 1.19 seconds faster than Dads Caps, and his final eight was 0.92 seconds quicker.

Trainer David Jacobson indicated Salutos Amigos could be on his way to the U.A.E for the $2-million Dubai Golden Shaheen.
Far From Over stumbled at the start of the Withers, settled well off the pace saving ground throughout, and exploded through the lane to beat El Kabeir and Classy Class. The son of Blame ran his final quarter in 24.65 seconds, 1.12 seconds quicker than El Kabeir, and won going away under a heady ride from Manuel Franco.

Don’t completely ignore the runner-up, though. El Kabeir traveled 53 feet more than Far From Over, a distance that translates to nearly 6 ¼ lengths compared to the winner, and 48 feet more than Classy Class.
Mackenzie Kirker-Head contributed to this report